The day after Bob Millward sacked him from his first coaching job, Graham Murray met the Illawarra Steelers founder for a beer and the pair remained close friends.

It's an anecdote that sums up Murray, the former NSW Origin coach who passed away on Sunday night after suffering a second heart attack earlier this month.

Murray, who was aged 58, also coached Hunter Mariners, Leeds Rhinos, Sydney Roosters and North Queensland, and was appointed as the inaugural Central Coast Bears mentor before their expulsion from the NRL at the end of the 1999 season.

Blues man: Graham Murray coached the NSW State of Origin team during his career. Photo: Getty Images

He enjoyed success at each club and developed friendships that have seen tributes pour in from around the world for one of the game's most popular figures.

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Millward gave Murray his start as a head coach with the Steelers in 1991 and sacked the club's most successful coach four years later after the outbreak of the Super League war. But the former school teacher and halfback with South Sydney and Parramatta never let business come between friendships.

In fact, just a few years later Murray helped Millward's son, Ian, get a coaching job in England and the pair travelled over together to watch his St Helens side win the 2000 Super League grand final.

"He got on with everyone," Bob Millward said. "I don't know anyone who didn't get on with Graham Murray. You could have your disagreements but the first thing he wanted to do was buy you a beer.

"I have had the privilege of being in his company and being in his home no matter where he coached. He had success, he made two grand finals and he took Illawarra to our highest level in 1992 when we got beat 4-0 in a final by St George.

"The only time I had a disagreement with him was when we chose to go separate ways [in the Super League war] but I had a beer with him the next day and we continued that friendship right through until his unfortunate passing."

Ian Millward, who learnt the news while working for the BBC at the Challenge Cup semi-final between Hull FC and Warrington, described Murray as his mentor.

"He was just a great guy and a lot of the starts I've got were through him," Millward said. "I started at Illawarra with him and then he recommended I to go to England so I joined Leigh and then he got me back to North Queensland. When I won my first Super League he flew over just to watch it.

"It's not just the success he has had as a coach but with myself personally and probably with a lot of others, he has moulded us into better people. Every club he was at he left successful and wherever he coached he transformed the culture.

"He changed the culture at Illawarra and got them in their first play-offs, he changed the culture at the Roosters and got them to a grand final [in 2000], he did the same with the Mariners and North Queensland were embarrassing before he went there but he got them to the [2005] grand final.

"I think what made him so successful was just his man-management, his people skills and his ability to interact with everyone from the top to the bottom. Players wanted to play for him because he made them feel important and he had that effect on everyone. That is why he was so popular."

However, he could also be feisty coach and as a journalist I have had been on the end of phone calls from an unhappy Murray over stories when he was coaching the Steelers, Mariners, Roosters and Cowboys, as well as during his stint in charge of the Blues in 2006 and 2007.

Sometimes the stories that upset him were as petty as speculation over rookie halfback Brett Kimmorley's selection ahead of Noel Goldthorpe at the Mariners but other times they were about the future of the besieged club or his own future.

Usually, he was satisfied to just let off some steam and like the officials at the Roosters and Cowboys who also had to deliver him bad news about the end of his tenure at those clubs, most in the media remained on good terms with him.

"A testament to Graham is that he handled the tough times in 2001 at the Roosters with the same considerable class and character that he handled the good times in 2000," said former Roosters chief executive Bernie Gurr, who was responsible for hiring and firing Murray. "Graham made a great contribution to the Roosters club.

"Graham Murray was a great bloke, a passionate rugby league man and devoted family man. My thoughts are with his wife Amanda and daughter Kara."

9 comments

Very sad to hear to hear of the passing of my old maths teacher and school football coach. He made an impression on me a kid and motivated me to do more with my life. Vale Muzz you'll be missed.

Commenter

Transfirmation1

Location

Sydney

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 12:08PM

Lovely tribute mate, sad loss

Commenter

Big Artie

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 1:06PM

So sad, and far too young. I remember him best as 'our' coach when I lived in Townsville. He wasn't like a 'mega' star, he was just the Cowboys coach, a completely down to earth bloke who'd say hello to everyone. I hope a suitable memorial is planned, maybe a statue along the Strand, so everyday folk can pay their respects as they go on their evening stroll.

Commenter

PhilS

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 1:50PM

He was my Year 12 Mathematics teacher at Sefton High in 1979. He was truly a gentleman and a very decent bloke, who cared about his students, and dare I say probably cared very much about the players he coached. My condolences to his family.

Commenter

stevet

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 2:07PM

Muzz was my Captain/Coach in Lismore after he retired from NRL. It was only for a short time, I was 16 or 17, and he was the ultimate mentor. He didn't ask for it but he gained my respect, admiration and love from day one. He was just one of life's special people, without having to try. We've lost one of the best.

Commenter

Gurdlepier

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 2:09PM

Most men are the product of many fathers. Firstly, their biological father who brought them into the world and nurtured them and secondly, their teachers. The teachers who father you by giving you the life skills to make something of your life. Graham Murray was one of these fathers to many people. As a young man growing up in the western suburbs of Sydney he taught me and many of my friends, through sport, the life skills of determination, unwavering belief and that through sacrifice and coming together as a group that we could, and especially in my case, overcome a of lack of individual talent to succeed. What greater lesson could a young man be taught.

Commenter

Brendan McNamara

Location

Sydney

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 2:53PM

Given his positive impact on so many young men, maybe David |Smith and Co could announce an award for Rugby League's Mentor of the Year in his name

Commenter

Wookster

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 4:57PM

Sounds like a damn fine idea

Commenter

Bruce J

Location

Queenscliff

Date and time

July 29, 2013, 5:01PM

I had the great pleasure of working with Muzz at Sydney's Radio 2GB and remember when he played for Parramatta.He was always gracious and polite and often cracked a joke with us. One of the world's real nice guys. They say only the good die young and in this case I believe it. RIP Graham.